Path to Power
by WaspStingBee
Summary: Goku wasn't found by Gohan and trained by a different Roshi. I own nothing but the plot


**Chapter One**

**Son Goku **

Roshi sat around a warm fire, it was night time and the aging jinchuriki was weary. After years of training he had gotten nowhere with controlling the beast inside him. How long had it been since he had seen his home? Ten years, maybe even more, while he hadn't had many fond memories of his village he hadn't necessarily hated it either, and as he got older the happier memories seemed to be more prominent than the ones of misery and sorrow. His mind wandered to his days spent in Iwagakure and the time he spent with Onoki the Third Tsuchikage. And so Roshi sat around his fire in the middle of a dark forest reminiscing until aloud cry caught the old man's attention. He turned toward where the cries had came from and for a second he thought about ignoring them but as the crying not only continued but gotten louder such thoughts where quickly abandoned.

"_Is that a baby?"_Roshi thought to himself.

As he got closer to the source of the crying he couldn't help but be perplexed. For who would journey so far into a hazardous forest at night with a child, he got closer, within seconds he reached a clearing from whence the cries had come. In the middle of the clearing was a wailing infant, with wild spiky black hair, naked as the day it was born which for all Roshi knew could've been yesterday. He silently glanced around the clearing looking for its parents. After spending seconds waiting, expecting to hear a rustling of bushes and to see a woman or maybe a man come rushing toward the infant, as seconds became minutes such thoughts faded. It was a cruel world and here was the proof an abandoned child left to die. Being a jinchuriki since the time he was a young boy he could attest to the fact that the world was a cruel place filled with horrible people and it was only for the few decent people he had met that he hadn't lost his sanity like so many other jinchuriki had done before him. Hearing enough of the boys, yes defiantly a boy, crying Roshi gently picked him up. The effect was almost instant, the wailing cries died down as the baby glanced up into Roshi's weathered face. For an instant a calm peace came over them both, the feeling unfortunately was disrupted when the baby's unusually strong jaws bit down on Roshi's hand. He grunted in pain and if he were a lesser man he would have dropped the boy.

"My what a strong bite you have, a feisty little beast aren't you?" Roshi said to the baby.

"You have no idea" a nasally almost annoying voice said behind him.

Roshi turned toward the newcomer "Are you the boy's father, you shouldn't leave infants alone especially in such a place as this" as he spoke Roshi took in the man's appearance. He was short and fat, with a round face, pointed ears, pale skin and round sunglasses sitting just above his almost nonexistent nose, wearing strange robes with the kanji's for World and King on the front.

"I appreciate the advice, but I am not the father, although I did leave the boy here, but I knew you would find him." Said the strange man

Roshi's eyes narrowed dangerously "_does he know who I am or what I am, has he been following me? No he doesn't exactly have a stealthy look about him I'm sure I would have noticed him had he been following me, and I don't think he could possibly know my identity either, So was it random chance, was he waiting for anyone to come across this child. But why, why leave an infant alone and crying in the woods, he said he wasn't the boy's father, did he kill the father and the mother so he could steal the child away to leave him to be found by a random stranger, no that's stupid I'm missing something but what? Is that a TAIL!?"_ Roshi was snapped out of his thought process as something from the boys backside reached around and wrapped itself around his wrist.

"You shouldn't gawk like that after all your a ninja so I'm sure you know all about bloodline limits, don't you Roshi?" the strange man drew Roshi's attention from the tailed infant.

"_A bloodline limit, how peculiar, He knows who I am should I kill him and what to do with the boy?"_ Roshi thought to himself.

"Oh will you calm down your not killing anyone, yes I can read your mind and no you can't beat me, now do you want to act like a good little boy and listen to an interesting story or do you want to waste even more of my time with the beating I would have to give you if you even thought about forming any hand seals?" the stranger said to Roshi in an almost bored fashion.

Roshi thought about it for a moment "alright I'm listening" Roshi told the stranger.

"Ok then, but let us continue this by the fire, its cold out tonight and the chills already getting to these old bones of mine." The stranger said as he walked past Roshi heading towards the camp fire.

As the strange man made himself comfortable around Roshi's fire, or at least as comfortable as you could possible get in a cold dark forest, Roshi took his seat still holding the tailed boy. As Roshi waited for the stranger to tell his interesting story the boy in his arms struggled to get free.

"Whoa now little one, hold still, hmm he doesn't seem to like me" Roshi muttered the last part to himself.

"He will get used to you eventually you just have to give him time" Roshi didn't like how the stranger said that, it was as if he was expecting Roshi to raise the boy.

"Don't you have a story to tell?" Roshi impatiently asked.

"Alright, alright, but first a joke how do you make a Nazi cross?" he asked Roshi, sighing heavily he humored the strange man and asked how.

"You spit on his corn HA HA HA HA HA, ok, ok, ok now down to business, you're probably wondering who I am, why I left a screaming infant in the middle of some dark and scary forest and how I knew who you were and where I could find you, in fact that's exactly what you're thinking." the stranger said.

"Well first things first, let's get the introduction out of the way shall we? My name is King Kai; I'm from an island very far away, in fact it is so far away that it would take a whole year of constant traveling to get there. But enough about me now on to the real reason we're here, the story I promised you. This story begins in the age before the ten tails, when demon beasts were as many as the fish in the seas or the birds in the skies, in this era man and beast walked similar paths, savagery was common practice and cruelty was considered common sense. Man would have never survived if weren't for certain clans that had learned the way of the demon beast, some even became beast themselves. Many of these clans have survived throughout the ages in fact many of them have abandoned their humanity and now call themselves demons, HA, if they ever saw a true demon they would piss themselves silly and fortunately for them there are only a few true demons left, but those clans that had the gall to call themselves demons have all been walled up behind a barrier so strong that even the gods can't break it. So forget about them this story isn't about the survivors of a brutal age or that place that they now reside in but of the clans that didn't or should I say clan, as in one, the only one that ever truly mattered, this clan made even the true demons shake in fear at the mere utterance of their name, don't ask me the name it's been lost for centuries, even I don't know it and I know pretty much know everything, anyway this clan was in a sense the predecessor of the tailed beast. But like I said they are believed to be no longer around, they were supposedly wiped out in the waning years of the chaotic times or at least everyone thought they were but it seems there may have been a few survivors. And if you want proof of the clans survival all you need do is look at that pudgy tailed baby in your arms." King Kai told his story and to Rosh's credit he hadn't yet laughed at the crazy man.

"Prove it" Roshi demanded

"Excuse me?"

"If you want me to believe any of this, you need to show me proof, and I want more than a tailed baby" Roshi told King Kai deciding to humor the crazed man.

"Hmm, how about I show you the Dark Continent, the place where all the descendents of the pseudo demons live, would you believe me then?" King Kai asked.

Before Roshi could give his reply King Kai had gotten up and grabbed him by the arm and all most instantly their surroundings had changed completely, instead of the dark forest they were now on a tiny island floating in the sky. As Roshi tried to get reoriented with his surroundings he couldn't help but feel as if 10 tons were pushing down on him. As Roshi struggled to get to his knees he didn't notice King Kai walking toward him now holding the fussing child.

"Welcome to my home, North Island, this island together with four other islands create the barrier around the Dark Continent, that weight your feeling pressing down on you is created by the barrier, it is the spiritual pressure from the seal on the bottom of my island, hold on sec and I'll help you out." King Kai put the tailed infant down and preformed a couple of hand seals and instantly Roshi felt the weight disappear.

"This is your home, but I thought you said it would take a year of constant traveling to reach it." Roshi turned to see King Kai picking up the boy.

"I know a few short cuts, but you're not here to see my lovely home, no what you want to see is below us." King Kai motioned for Roshi to follow "See the Dark Continent just like I said" King Kai and Roshi walked over to the edge of the island and peered down at an unknown land trapped beneath some sort of barrier.

"Short cut? Dark Continent? What did you think you would do, drag me hear with some sort of time space technique, then show me this strange land surrounded by a barrier and I'd be putty in your hands. A year of constant travel? I bet we've haven't even left the Land of Earth, yes I'm sure this is nothing more than some sort of genjutsu." Roshi declared while glaring at King Kai.

"You're a stubborn one aren't you? Fine I see it will take more than common sense for you to believe me, well there is no helping it" King Kai sighed as he drew a circle with his index finger then made a quick thrust motion with the hand that wasn't holding the baby. A golden circular portal appeared a few inches away from King Kai.

"Normally no one can get in or out but fortunately I have the key, now come along" King Kai gestured for Roshi to follow. King Kai went first with the child still in his hands followed reluctantly by Roshi.

When Roshi landed on the other side of the portal what he saw would scar him for years to come. The landscape itself was nothing that impressive, dead trees here and there, large boulders at random spots, no it wasn't the landscape that would scar him but rather the monsters on it. Luckily the portal took them too far from the carnage for them to be noticed by the combatants, they were on top a large hill, covered in dead trees and large rocks, a good place for not being seen especially by those things at the bottom. Whatever they where they were terrifying, Roshi could feel the vast malevolent chakra, it was all over the place seemingly infinite the very air was saturated with it and all of it seemed to have come from the battle below them. Those things must have had a larger chakra reserve than a tailed beast, they were throwing pure chakra around like it was nothing, Roshi tried using genjutsu dissipation and when that didn't work stabbed his hand with a kunai, and still he hadn't awoken from the genjutsu.

"I think that will do, we should leave before we're noticed" King Kai whispered to Roshi and stepped through the portal once more with a now excited infant. It disturbed Roshi deeply to see how the boy seemed to enjoy the sight below them. As once again Roshi exited the portal to land back on North Island, King Kai quickly closed the portal then handed him the young babe that was clearly saddened by leaving that horrid place. King Kai clutched Roshi's shoulder and again felt disorientated as they warped back to the forests. As both men took their places by the fire contempt with silence that had enveloped them they stared at each other and once or twice Roshi stole a few glances at the baby boy.

"What were those things?" Roshi asked

"Not a genjutsu then?" King Kai took Roshis silence to mean he finally believed him and continued "Like that babies clan was the predecessor to the tailed beast those **THINGS** where the predecessor of the ninja, in those days before the Sage of the Six Paths, no one knew what ninjutsu was but they certainly knew about chakra, they just didn't have name for it or know how to mold it or how to perform hand seals so they settled for making it into an explosive force that they used to kill each other with, as we sat quietly watching travesty after travesty, watching them discard their humanity and become false demons, most of them took to cannibalism and as time went on they mutated becoming not human, but not demon either."

"What do you want from me?" Roshi asked wasting no time

"Finally, we get down to what really brought me here, when I laid that boy in that clearing I had originally expected you to find him then you would take him in and raise him as if he were your grandson, but as you found the boy I skimmed through your thoughts and knew you wouldn't raise him yourself you would've dumped in the nearest orphanage, but he needs someone strong to teach him the subtle art of the ninja, and who's stronger than a jinchuriki well except for other jinchuriki and I hate tell you this but out of all nine you were the most acceptable for the job." King Kai explained to a sullen faced Roshi.

"I'm no one's grandpa" Roshi said adamantly

"Fine then be his master, he needs a strong firm hand to guide him, he needs you" King Kai told Roshi.

Roshi looked down at the boy, silently considering his options, if what King Kai told him was true and the boy was part of clan that were essentially tailed beast, than whatever village claimed him would have the advantage for if he had the bloodline limit than so would his children. Roshi could picture it in his head an army of tailed beast, Iwagakure would be unstoppable.

"I don't like those thoughts running through your head Roshi, know this you play with fire, this child could bring great light to the world or great destruction, I give him to you because you have seen both the light and dark of humanity. You have knowledge this boy will need to survive in this world, and if you do agree to raise him I have certain conditions" King Kai warned

"Before you were practically begging me to take him in and now there are conditions?" Roshi sneered

"Shut up and listen you old fool, if you decide to raise him I would like it if you took him on a journey. You will travel with him around the nations teaching him not only the way of the ninja but of life and when he comes of 12 years of age you will send him to Iwa to become a genin." King Kai clarified

Roshi personally didn't have any problems with the supposed conditions, after all he was thinking of doing those things anyway. He looked and King Kai and something didn't feel quite right, he was certain the stranger was keeping things from him.

"Well of course I'm keeping things from you" King Kai exclaimed "you can't expect me to lay all my cards on the table especially since you wouldn't understand half of it, but know you know everything you need to, Oh! Uh well not everything, there is one last condition, you keep the boy from the full moon at all cost, I'm serious it wouldn't be any good if the kid caught a glimpse of the fool moon."

Roshi looked quizzically at King Kai but all he could get out of him was it had something to do with his bloodline limit so Roshi agreed. As once again the two men sat in silence they stole a glance at the now sleeping boy in Roshi's arms. The boy wriggled in his sleep but Roshi kept a firm but gentle grip on the boy, standing to leave King Kai said his goodbyes and wished him and the boy the best of luck.

"Wait I don't know the boys name" Roshi called

"He doesn't have a name both his parents died before they could name him" with that King Kai disappeared in an instant with that bizarre teleporting technique of his. With King Kai gone it was up to Roshi to name the boy, and that is when he had a crazy idea.

"_The boy is basically a tailed beast and he does have a monkey tail, I may be asking for trouble naming him after that monkey but I feel the name would suit him well"_ Roshi thought to himself

"Then it is decided I will call you Son Goku" Roshi proclaimed to the sleeping baby


End file.
